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When the Night Becomes Desire
Vigil, Wonder, and the Refusal to Leave the Beloved “His mind will be quick to take flight as it were on wings, and rise up toward God with delight.” — St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 20 There are passages in St. Isaac that can sound almost impossible to modern ears. His words on vigil are among them. “Do not imagine,” he tells us, “that among all the works of monastics there is any practice greater than night vigil.” We hear such words and immediately think of sleep deprivation
Father Charbel Abernethy
Aug 197 min read
When the Heart Sees Who Has Come Near
Strength, Wonder, and the Desire Born of Divine Love “He is my love, my fortress; he is my stronghold, my saviour.” — Psalm 143 (144):2 There is a way of hearing this psalm that can leave us almost entirely with the language of warfare. The Lord trains the hands for battle. He is fortress, stronghold, shield and refuge. Enemies surround us; mighty waters threaten to overwhelm us; falsehood rises against us. We cry out for God to descend, to scatter what assails us and to draw
Father Charbel Abernethy
Aug 186 min read
The Seal of the Spirit
On the End of Fear and the Birth of Love “Without humility the work of man cannot be perfected… he is a slave, and his work does not rise above fear.” St. Isaac the Syrian ⸻ There is a form of religious life that appears serious, disciplined, even devout, and yet remains entirely unfree. It is driven by fear. Fear of punishment. Fear of failure. Fear of being exposed for what one is. Fear of losing what one has built. Such a life can be externally impressive. It can be filled
Father Charbel Abernethy
Apr 83 min read
St. Philip Neri and the Wound We Cannot Leave
Abiding in the Open Side “Let us concentrate ourselves so completely in the divine love, and enter so far into the living fountain of wisdom, through the wounded Side of our Incarnate God, that we may deny ourselves and our self-love, and so be unable to find our way out of that Wound again.” — St. Philip Neri Philip tells us to enter the Wound and lose the way back out. It is not a metaphor meant to stir passing devotion but a command to relocate the whole of our life. Conce
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 253 min read
Abide in the Love That Seeks You
From Compunction to Surrender in the Fire of Divine Eros “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 There is a compunction that still circles the self. Tears can be shed that are secretly about my failure. My weakness. My fall. My loss of image. Even repentance can become a mirror in which I stare at myself. The fathers warn us that the ego is subtle. It will clothe itself even in sackcloth. The sorrow that leads to life does not end in self absorption. It breaks the he
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 234 min read
A Conversation in the Light of Love
A Dialogue between Saint Sophrony and a disciple ⸻ Disciple: Father, I received a word from an elder. It struck me deeply. He said: “You are freed from the denial. Your compunction must turn into your abiding in Him. He loves you and wants to abide in you and you in Him infinitely more than you want this. And He wants your love so much that He wants to make your love like His, because Love seeks to be loved as He loves.” I trembled when I read it. It felt both consoling and
Father Charbel Abernethy
Feb 234 min read
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